Commodity Futures Trading Commission

As has been widely reported, President Biden has nominated Gary Gensler to be the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The former CFTC chairman under President Obama, Gensler currently teaches courses on blockchain and digital assets at MIT. What should the crypto community expect of Mr. Gensler as SEC chair?
Continue Reading President Biden’s Nominee for SEC Chairman: What Does It Mean for Crypto?

On April 16, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil enforcement action against two Florida-based crypto companies and their founder and sole owner. According to the CFTC, the Defendants raised $1.6 million from hundreds of customers by fraudulently marketing and soliciting a digital asset to be used in connection with the Defendants’ proprietary foreign exchange algorithm called ART. 
Continue Reading CFTC Files Complaint for Fraudulent Forex and Digital Asset Scheme

On June 18, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced the commencement of a civil enforcement action (the Complaint) against two United Kingdom-based defendants, a purported Bitcoin trading company and its principal (collectively, the Defendants). The CFTC alleges that the Defendants perpetrated a wide-ranging fraud involving at least $147 million in Bitcoin from more than 1,000 customers.
Continue Reading CFTC Brings Charges in Fraudulent Bitcoin Trading Scheme

On April 18, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) announced its first enforcement action against a peer-to-peer virtual currency exchanger, which also included its first civil monetary penalty against a virtual currency exchanger, for failure to file Currency Transaction Reports (“CTRs”).
Continue Reading FinCEN Announces First Enforcement Action Against Peer-to-Peer Virtual Currency Exchange

To date, virtual currency exchanges in the United States have structured their operations in an effort to avoid being required to register as an exchange with either the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. While these efforts may be entirely legal, without the regulatory protections of exchange registration, they could create enhanced risks for customers, particularly in the case of a fund’s insolvency or collapse.
Continue Reading Federal Court Lacks Personal Jurisdiction Over Defunct Virtual Currency Exchange

On July 12, 2018, a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York reaffirmed its view that cryptocurrency fraud is subject to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s anti-fraud and anti-manipulation enforcement authority.
Continue Reading U.S. District Court Reaffirms CFTC’s Authority over Cryptocurrency Fraud